


Aether Ocean

by BisexualDisastaur



Series: #FEGenWeek2020 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Aether Resort (Fire Emblem Heroes), Beaches, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, Just a bunch of kiddos having fun at the beach, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23800096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisexualDisastaur/pseuds/BisexualDisastaur
Summary: A bunch of FE4 kids have a day to themselves at the beach with absolutely no adult supervision. Surely nothing can go wrong, right?
Relationships: Celice | Seliph & Yurius | Julius, Cyrus | Saias & Yurius | Julius, Yuria | Julia & Yurius | Julius
Series: #FEGenWeek2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709977
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: Fire Emblem Gen Week 2020





	Aether Ocean

When Julius woke up from his warm bed in the Inn of the Aether Resort, something felt different. It wasn’t a  _ bad _ different, like how he felt when he held his tome, but still different nonetheless. The air felt changed, and he could distantly hear the call of... Seagulls?

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” Julia suddenly called out, and in a moment she was bouncing on the foot of his bed, grinning.

“Julia? What’s going on?”

“It’s a surprise! You’ll find out soon, I promise. Hurry up and get dressed!”

“I hope it’s a good surprise.” Julius grumbled, rising.

“It is! Oh, maybe don’t put on your cloak today though.”

“What?”

* * *

Julius gasped when he stepped out of the inn. Instead of the sweet, green grass he was used to, sand delicately gave way under his feet. The sun above was bright and hot, but its rays were softened by the soft fronds of the palm trees that now lined the land, as well as the literal  _ ocean _ that spread out in front of him.

“We… We’re on a  _ floating island  _ in the  _ sky.  _ How is this possible!? And how did it change so suddenly!?” Julius rubbed his eyes.

Seliph shrugged. “Magic? I’m not really sure. Askran magic doesn’t make much sense to me. Kiran fiddled with something last night and I guess it changed?”

Julius eyed the ocean. “If we swim out too far, will we fall off?”

“Nope!” A cheery voice interrupted them, and they turned to see Kiran. “I made sure of that! Alfonse helped me fiddle with the Aether, and now there’s a barrier out there. It keeps the water contained within the island so that you all can swim safely and not have to worry. It’s perfectly safe too! There aren’t any animals, and soft currents keep the water cycling and clear. Just… Make sure you know how to swim first.” They kicked at the sand, wrinkling their nose. “And take off your boots. And your cloaks. I think I’m going to leave now, I really do hate sand… Have fun, kiddos! You’ve been working hard, so take the next few days off for a little vacation.” Waving their hand, they headed back to the portal that would take them back to Askr, slipping and grumbling in the sand all the while.

“Heh.” Seliph chuckled, although he reached down to take off his boots and roll up his pants. “Well, you heard what they said. We’re not expected back for a few days.”

“Mn.” Julius glanced around. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Saias went to the library. Ares went with him, and Leif and Altena are testing out the Dining Hall. I think Lene and Nanna are in the Concert Hall.” Julia replied.

“No adult supervision?”

Seliph laughed at Julius’ question. “We  _ are _ adults!”

Julius pouted. “I don’t feel like one. What are we going to do if something happens?”

“It’s perfectly safe. We all know how to swim.” Seliph paused. “Don’t we?”

Julius looked down. “I don’t.” He replied quietly. “I never learned. In Grannvale, I was to never be parted from my tome for too long, and swimming took too much time.”

Julia gently clasped his hand, looking at him earnestly. “It won’t be like that this time.” She said firmly, a contrast to her usual soft gentleness. “I promise.”

Julius smiled, squeezing her hand back. “Yes. Now… How do I swim?”

* * *

“Just like that, Julius!” Lene called from the strange floating ring she was lounging on. “Just keep swimming! You can do it!”

“Lene, you’re not helping much.” Ares called from his spot on the beach, sheltered under a large umbrella.

The dancer waved a hand at him. “Oh, you’re not even in the water! What, are you afraid you’ll get your fur wet, you baby cub?”

_ “Lene!”  _ Ares growled, but she just laughed, kicking her legs to paddle further away from him.

Julius shook his head, feeling vulnerable out in the open water wearing only a “swimsuit.” as Seliph had called it when finding suitable clothes for him. Speaking of Seliph…

“Just like that, Julius.” His half-brother said encouragingly, holding his arms as he kicked in the water. “Feel how you’re floating?”

“Kind of…”

“I’m going to let go now.”

“No, wait!” Julius yelped, latching on. “I’ll drown!”

“If I see you sinking, then I’ll catch you. But you won’t—I promise.”

Julia paddled past them, her hair tied into a braid that floated in the water. “I’m here too. Besides, you’ll be fine! Mother is a fantastic swimmer, so you must’ve inherited that from her as I did.”

Julius winced. “I don’t know… I feel like I inherited Father’s blood more, and you know how he gets around water…” Still, he loosened his grip on Seliph’s arm and kicked. Little by little, Seliph let go until he was somehow flopping around in the water by himself. Dignified? No. He was surviving though!

“I did it—gah!” Julius spluttered, spitting out water. “It’s  _ salty!” _

“It is the ocean, after all.” A new voice joined them, and Julius glanced over to see Altena swimming past.

“Altena! Getting the hang of swimming?”

“Yeah.” Altena grumbled. “I really do like flying more.”

“Are you new too?” Julius asked, waving his arms and legs faster to keep his head afloat. Seliph hurriedly reached over to help steady him.

“Hmph.” Altena swam around him. “Yeah. Water is scarce in Thracia, and had to be conserved if it wasn’t poisoned. Not much leeway for swimming. Besides, why swim when you can fly?”

“I guess.” Julius spluttered as he accidentally splashed water in his mouth. “Blegh.”

“Shall we head to shore?” Seliph asked sympathetically, and he nodded. Salt water  _ really _ didn’t taste good at all.

* * *

“Here.” Saias suddenly shoved a green object in his hands. “Drink this.”

Julius studied the straw poking out the top of it. “What is it?”

“Have you never seen a coconut before?”

“I don’t recall.” Julius took a sip, eyes brightening. “It’s sweet! What really is this?”

Saias took a seat on the blanket next to him, brushing sand off his cloak. “It’a fruit that produces water inside of itself. Well, I say it’s fruit, but I’ve heard Kiran arguing that it’s a mammal…”

“What!?”

“Something about hair and milk.” Saias waved his hand. “Don’t worry yourself over it.”

“Mn.” Julius took another sip. “Are you not going swimming? At least take off your cloak, or you’ll get heatstroke.”

“I don’t like swimming.” Saias replied, irritated. “You get sticky afterwards, and it’s a pain to wash off all the sand.”

“Are you at least enjoying yourself?”

“I suppose so. But, I’m one of the eldest here, so I feel like I should be the responsible one.”

“Oka—” Julius cut himself off when he noticed Leif slowly sneaking up to the mage-priest, holding a bucket and silently snickering to himself. Nanna watched from a small distance away, a small smile on her face although her forehead was creased in concern. “Saias, watch o—”

Saias  _ screamed _ when Leif dumped the bucket of ocean water on his head. The prince burst out into hysterical laughter before running away as fast as he could in the sand while Saias slowly stood, eyes dark in murderous rage.

“...Are you going to take off your cloak now?”

Julius got his question answered by a faceful of wet cloth. He peeled the garment away from him, watching in amusement as Saias stripped down to his inner layers before making a beeline towards Leif, screeching.

“...Responsible one, huh.”


End file.
